Top 10 Measurement Expert Posts in 2016

Here we are at the end of 2016. We at the Measurement Experts blog appreciate your readership this year. You visited this blog more than 52,000 times this year, with more than 8,000 views on the most popular post. So, thanks for coming by!

The posts you read tell us which topics hold the most interest for you, our readers. To that end, we’ve gathered the 10 posts with the most visits in 2016. These are the posts that you read the most.

So, without further delay, the Top 10 Measurement Expert posts in 2016:

1. 1. How BSFL is related to pressure transducer accuracy: Accuracy is paramount to the success of a pressure transducer. However, the output of a pressure transducer isn’t linear, meaning the signal deviates from reality by varied amounts across the full measurement span. When graphed, the output looks like a curve rather than a straight line.

1. 1. Radar and Ultrasonic sensors: There is a tendency, at least in the industrial media, to put Ultrasonic and Radar level measurement technology in the same hat. Even though many people use the terms interchangeably, the two technologies are quite different. So, at the risk of sounding a bit nit-picky, we feel that defining the differences is important, as it affects how sensors are selected and applied.

1. 1. How zero and span field adjustments keep you pressure transducer operating with in specification: Sooner or later, no matter what the application or the brand of your instrumentation; your pressure transducer is going to need recalibration. Prolonged exposure in a harsh environment, age, and frequency of use contribute to the drift of your sensor, and results in it falling out of calibration.

1. 1. Should I use compound or absolute pressure gauges? When you need to measure a vacuum, you may instantly think of a compound pressure gauge. After all, that’s what they’re designed for. However, you might want to take a look at absolute gauges. The differences between the two are fairly subtle, but important. Let’s take a look.

1. 1. The best water level sensor for deep wells: Many water wells range in depth from 10 to 60 feet. However, other wells are drilled hundreds of feet deep! So when a customer needs a water level sensor in these deep wells, we recommend our submersible pressure transducer, the PT-500.

1. 1. The Art of the stilling well: For both contact and non-contact methods of liquid level measurement, surface disruption can cause problems. Stilling wells are a great way to dampen disruptions, and provide a clean target surface for an accurate measurement.

1. 1. What is a strapping chart? When volume is a concern, your tank might just come with a strapping chart. This chart tells you what volume you have at what levels. For example, at 5 inches, you may have 5 gallons, and at 8.5 inches, you might have 10 gallons.

1. 1. Normally Open vs Normally Closed: Deciding whether your float switch needs to be normally open or normally closed for pump control can be a little confusing. So we would like to clear things up. When we say normally open or normally closed, we are referring to an electrical circuit. An open circuit is incomplete, meaning that the electric current is unable to complete the loop due to a gap. A closed circuit is complete with no gaps, enabling the current to travel through the whole loop.

1. 1. Modbus RTU vs Modbus TCP/IP: The specific way data is packaged and transmitted is known as a communication protocol. Fieldbus is a type of communication protocol that allows networking industrial devices, such as pressure transducers and level sensors to a PLC. Modbus is a popular fieldbus that allows a lot of data to be transferred, and supports two-way communication for remote operation (such as device programming and set-up).

And, the most popular Measurement Expert post in 2016:

1. 1. What’s the difference between regulated and unregulated power supplies? In a general sense, a power supply is any device that supplies energy (power!) to an electrical circuit. Taken this way, batteries are power supplies for flashlights and power plants are power supplies for the electrical grid. But that’s not usually what we have in mind when we talk about power supplies. Usually, we use “power supply” to indicate a circuit or a device that adapts available power to the specific needs of one device or a set of similar devices.

Thanks for reading, everyone!